The last chapter was posted relatively close to this one, so please make sure you didn't miss it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. =)
Noticing Adam: The Uprising Chapter 8
King Randor was frozen—the fear he felt was insurmountable. It had only been a day since Adam, Adora, and Teela had left for Etheria, and since that time he had worried. He had worried that they might get hurt and that he'd never see any of them again. His mind had kept playing out awful scenarios that combined with things that had happened in real life. In one, he had seen Adam being hit by bolts from Skeletor's Havoc Staff, and this time there hadn't been any magical beings to help put life back into his son. He had tried his best to get over these thoughts. He had tried his best to tell himself that everything would be fine…
And, now the Sorceress had effectively killed any chance of him having any calm thought ever again until Adam and Adora came home safely.
He waited for the Sorceress to answer his question. He could tell that something was wrong with at least one of his children. He didn't know how, but he could feel the concern and the guilt she was currently feeling. "Please, tell me what's going on!" he cried aloud. He glanced at his wife and saw that she was nearly in tears.
Finally, the Sorceress responded. "There is no easy way to tell you this, King Randor. Our worst fears have come to pass."
King Randor blanched immediately, and he felt as though all the life had been sucked out of his body. Luckily, he was already seated on his throne, so he didn't fall to his knees like he would have if he had been standing. Instead, he fell back into the seat as a multitude of tears gathered in his eyes. "Which one was taken from us?" he asked with his mind. He could no longer speak aloud. He didn't even know if he'd ever be able to get up again.
"Adam, but it's not what you…"
Instantly, both the king and the queen cried out as if they were in pain, and truly they were; they would have had the same reaction if it had been either twin, but just hearing the Sorceress answer his question made them feel like they had been hit with ton of bricks. Randor could almost feel his heart being ripped into shreds. "Nothing is worth it anymore if Adam is gone," he thought to himself. "I can't go on without him…the kingdom can't even go on without him." Suddenly, Marlena was in his arms and he stood to comfort her as she comforted him.
Through their tears, they finally heard the Sorceress trying to get their attention. "Listen to me, King Randor and Queen Marlena!" She had to repeat herself several times. When she knew she once again had their attention, she said, "It is not what you think! I used a poor choice of words. Adam has been taken from us, which is our worst fear, but he is very much still alive!"
A deep sigh of relief escaped the king and queen for a brief moment. Then, Randor tilted his head back towards the ceiling and closed his eyes as he still hugged his wife. His heart was constricting almost painfully now. He couldn't take these emotional rollercoasters anymore. One second he felt like the world was ending and the next, he felt an extraordinary amount of relief. But then he remembered what was said beyond the fact that Adam was alive. "He had been taken from us" is what she had said.
"Where is he?" he asked, feeling deeply concerned. "What happened?"
"He's at the Fright Zone with Hordak and Skeletor. It is as we have feared: they are working together."
Randor squeezed his eyes shut even tighter as her words sunk in. If he was at the Fright Zone, there was no telling what he was going through. They could be torturing him; they could be killing him. Maybe Skeletor wanted to finish the job since he hadn't succeeded the first time.
Before he could drive himself into a state of panic, the Sorceress explained, "Adam is not hurt, not physically anyway. As a matter of fact, they are taking good care of him."
This confused Randor. "What do you mean?"
He could feel the Sorceress' mental sigh and he could even feel that she was gathering up the courage to tell him some kind of horrible news.
"Skeletor and Shadow Weaver have cast several spells on him." The king and queen gasped, but she kept going. "Adam no longer remembers us. He believes Adora and he have been raised by the Horde and that the Rebellion has captured and brainwashed Adora. He's filled with so many conflicting emotions right now. He misses his sister, he's frightened that they might hurt her, and he even feels something akin to hatred. It's not in his nature to feel that way, so he doesn't know how to handle it."
Adam wasn't the only one who didn't know how to handle it. Randor was at a loss. "What can we do?" he asked desperately. "We must help him somehow."
"The Spirit of Grayskull and I have a plan, but it requires one of you to go to Etheria. We need to capture Adam. We need to remind him of his true family and his life on Eternia. He needs one of you."
The king and queen turned to look at one another. Randor locked his jaw,which gave him a look of deep determination, and insisted, "I have to be the one, dear. If things go badly, I don't want Adam or the Horde to hurt or capture you. Besides, I still have a lot of things to make up for and…"
Marlena grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. She nodded and said, "You're right. It should be you. Man-at-Arms and I will keep things going here." At this, he tightened his hold on his wife and she cried against his chest. "Bring our son home, Randor, and tell him that I love him and miss him so very much."
"I will, my dear. That I promise you."
The Sorceress didn't wait for anyone to say anything else. She simply stated, "Come to Castle Grayskull as quickly as you can, King Randor."
=)=)=)
She-Ra ran as quickly as she could to the location where she thought she had heard Adam yell. She also thought she had heard Swiftwind, but she wasn't sure. So, when she turned the corner of the building, the sight before her almost made her stumble: Swiftwind was lying on the ground. At first she thought he was dead, but then she noticed that his feet kicked a little and she heard his pain-riddled neigh.
She ran to him as fast as she could. "Oh, Swifty!" she said soothingly to the animal. She wanted to impart comfort to the animal as quickly as possible before she called upon her healing powers. She placed her hands on the unicorn's neck and back and stated the words which she knew would heal his wounds. "For the Honor of Grayskull, let your wounds be healed!"
The extent of Swiftwind's wounds had been extensive. Not only had he broken ribs, punctured internal organs, and given himself a concussion, he had also been shot by a stun ray. "Poor Swiftwind," she thought as she felt herself getting more and more tired with each passing second. Eventually, she heard her beloved pet neigh gratefully and he got up.
"She-Ra!" the animal cried. "Thank you, my friend. Are you all right?"
She nodded wearily as she stood and wrapped her arms around Swiftwind's neck. "I'm fine," she mumbled. "Are you?"
"Yes, I'm just sorry I wasn't able to save Adam."
This made her jump. "Adam?" she questioned. "Where is he? What do you mean you couldn't save him?"
Swiftwind tilted his head to the ground and looked as sad as a horse could. "While I was waiting for you, I heard some commotion. I thought I heard Adam and Skeletor's voices. When I came to investigate, I found Adam climbing down the side of the Fright Zone and Skeletor and Hordak were pulling him back up. Unfortunately, Adam fell and I managed to catch him. That's when Hordak or one of the Troopers stunned me. I know Adam didn't hit the ground with me. Shadow Weaver or Skeletor must have saved him at the last moment."
She-Ra looked up at the Fright Zone and asked, "Where was he climbing down from?"
"The top window," he replied.
She wrinkled her brow. "Why would he put Adam there? That's a bedroom. Hordak's never been one to make his prisoners feel comfortable."
Before either one could say anything else, She-Ra heard the Sorceress calling out to her. She pulled the Sword of Protection, which was shimmering brightly, from her back and looked at the Sorceress's face in the small stone. Despite it being so tiny, she could tell that she was worried. "Sorceress?" she questioned.
The Sorceress didn't greet her or waste any time. She told her exactly what she wanted her to do. "She-Ra, you need to go to the Whispering Woods immediately."
She shook her head and replied, "But Adam is a prisoner of the Horde."
"I know and we must come up with a way to rescue him, but you're needed back at camp. Adam will be okay for now." Without further comment, the Sorceress' face disappeared and the sword no longer glistened with magic.
=)=)=)
Adam felt confused. He didn't quite understand why, but he felt as though…he didn't belong, and that was absurd since he belonged there more so than any of Hordak's other men. They were family, after all. Hordak had adopted him and his sister at a very young age, so he didn't understand why he felt so out of place.
He watched as Catra gathered her Force Squad together to discuss their next battle strategy. Hordak and Shadow Weaver stood at the head of the conference table and waited for everyone to join them. He walked to Hordak's right-hand side and noticed the strange looks that the others were giving him as they took their seats. A feeling that was almost intense irritation and annoyance bubbled up inside him and even that felt awkward. Despite this, he looked at back at the others and snapped, "Paint a portrait! It'll last longer!"
It was almost comical when everyone, himself included, widened their eyes. "Where in the world did that come from?" he asked himself. As soon as the words had left his mouth, he had cringed inwardly. He felt the oddest sensation that told him that he hadn't really wanted to be so antagonistic, but the crazy thing was that he really had. It was like…it was like…
He didn't know. He was starting to get a headache, because he had so many conflicting emotions and thoughts. He was annoyed at their staring, but he was also relieved that they seemed to feel as awkward as he did about his presence. He also felt what might be hatred towards the Rebellion, and yet there were moments when he thought he remembered having a deep camaraderie with them. He wondered if perhaps he was picking up on these feelings from his sister. It was possible.
Hordak laughed when Adam had snapped at his men. Oddly, the Horde leader didn't reproach him for his actions. Adam felt as though he should have, like a father should have…like someone had done to him before in other situations. A picture of a man tried to form in his mind, but it faded away as soon as he tried to study it. That had been happening all day. He would feel like he was remembering something and when he started paying attention to whatever it was, he would lose it. He wondered if he had suffered a concussion at the hands of the Rebellion. Maybe he should get checked out by a doctor.
Deciding to do exactly that after their meeting, he listened as Hordak announced, "Adora should be coming to the Fright Zone soon. She may have She-Ra or some of those Rebels with her. We must prepare for any possibility…"
=)=)=)
King Randor stood with two of his sentinels before a dimensional gate that was supposed to take them to Etheria. He had never gone anywhere this way before, but he knew Adam had done so often enough. He knew even Man-at-Arms had gone from place to place on Eternia with gates from the Sorceress. He didn't know what to expect, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Adam needed him and he was determined to get his son back.
"There are several things you must know before you go, King Randor," the Sorceress called out to him before he could step into the gate.
He looked back at her with as much patience as he could contrive…and it wasn't much. He wanted to get to Adam as quickly as possible.
"When you reach Etheria, you will be outside the Whispering Woods. In this location, the Horde is able to reach you. You must head east immediately to the forest. Stay in that direction and eventually you will run into camp or someone who will take you there. Adora and Teela do not know of your imminent arrival, but they will be there. Make sure that they don't blame themselves or each other too much."
He nodded and started to turn back towards the gate when she stopped him again.
"One more thing," she said softly. She stood before him, tilted her head, and frowned. She looked almost apologetic. "I want you to know what you will be facing so it doesn't take you by surprise. It's going to be hard to face Adam when you do see him."
He swallowed roughly. "Why?"
"He believes he's a member of the Horde. He will be fighting on their side, and he believes Hordak to be a…father to him."
Randor closed his eyes and shook his head at the floor. When he looked up, brown eyes met ethereal green as he replied, "You were right. I did need to know that, but despite the warning, I don't know how I'm going to handle it if I hear him call that…fiend his father. I might forget myself and try my best to kill Hordak right then and there." He breathed deeply several times and continued, "Hordak has always wanted to take my children from me and he may think he has succeeded with Adam, but he will soon learn his mistake."
The Sorceress nodded in agreement with a small smile of encouragement. She then walked to the gate and said, "Simply walk through, King Randor. You will find yourself on Etheria soon enough. Remember, go east…and good luck."